A Beginners Guide to What They Are and How They Work
An estate sale takes place when a family or estate has a large volume of items that need to be sold out of a house, generally due to a move, significant downsize, or someone passing away.
Today, estate sales typically happen in one of two formats:
Traditional in-home estate sales: A company stages and prices items throughout the home, then opens the doors for public shopping over 2–3 days.
Online estate sales: Items are photographed and listed online for bidding, and winning buyers pick up at scheduled times.
Brown Button specializes in the online estate sale model. We come into the home, organize and catalog the contents, photograph and list items for online bidding, then market the sale to our buyer audience. After the sale, we coordinate scheduled pickups.
Our average sale features categories like designer furniture, original art, jewelry, rugs, handbags, vintage and antique pieces, sterling, and decor.
A common misconception about estate sales is that someone has always passed away, giving the sale a somber tone.
This is rarely the case with a Brown Button sale, as they’re almost always due to a big move or downsize. 90% of our clients are entering a new chapter of their life; a new job in a different state, downsizing with the kids out of the house, or moving to a new neighborhood with a different style; are all common reasons for a sale.
Our goal with every sale is to maximize the value of the items for our clients and craft an amazing online treasure hunt for our shoppers.
We host 3-5 sales a week and they are all unique.
Each sale comes from a different home, with an entirely new set of items. Think of it like a pop-up boutique that lives online for a few days, then disappears.
Here’s the basic flow:
We photograph and catalog the items in the home, then list everything online for bidding.
No lines, no crowds, shop our estate sale from your home on your own time.
Everything starts at $1. Items sell to the highest bidder when the sale ends.
After you win:
You’ll choose a scheduled pickup time and pick up directly from the home, in an organized, staggered flow (no packed house, no long checkout lines).
For ease of checkout, winning bidders are auto charged with the credit card they signed up with.
For large items like furniture or heavy art, our team will help load at pickup, and we can connect you with delivery partners if you’d rather have it brought to you.
Our sales take place in both the Kansas City metro and St. Louis metro. The best way to get updates on the newest sale is to join our email list. You’ll get one email per sale with everything you need.
We conducted a survey of our customers and asked them why they like shopping at estate sales. Consistently, we heard six key reasons that keep them coming back each week:
It’s Fun: Surprisingly this is the most common answer. Different guests had different ways of describing it including “the thrill of the hunt” and “ the adventure and surprise.” At the end of the day, many of our guests join us each week because it’s a blast to do so.
Unique Interesting Items: With hundreds of items each week, unique variety is a big draw. Over the years we’ve seen everything in our sales: iconic mid century furniture, designer fashion for every era, antiques from around the world, heirloom quality designer furniture, eclectic jewelry collections, handwritten presidential letters, and original art of every shape size and media. If you want to shop unique, estate sales are the place to go.
Price: Many of our customers have outfitted entire houses on a crazy low budget by shopping at our sales. Much of the items we sell go to new homes between 20% and 50% of the original retail. It is hard to beat the cost effectiveness of estate sale shopping.
Good For The Environment: Buying used is better for the planet than buying new – full stop. Every item that is made comes with two costs: the monetary cost and the environmental costs. When you buy used you’re only paying a fraction of the monetary cost, and the environmental cost has already been paid. Many of our customers embrace Conscious Consumerism and enjoy the fact the shopping used through estate sales doesn’t put an extra burden on the environment. You can learn more about our environmental values here.
Our Team: We were very blessed when we saw this feedback in the survey from our guests. In the words of one shopper: “The people at Brown Button are always so friendly and very helpful. The Brown Button staff never disappoint!” With each sale, our team works to make it an awesome experience for our shoppers.
Each one of our estate sales is listed with it’s sale dates on our Upcoming Sales page.
The easiest way to stay connected with our upcoming sales is to sign up for our emails. We’ll keep you in the loop for each week’s sale and make it easy to view the photos and sale info.
Brown Button estate sales are timed online auctions. Think “estate sale,” but with less elbowing and more shopping from your sofa.
Every item starts at $1, there’s no reserve, and it will sell to the highest bidder. Each sale has a set closing date and time, and lots begin closing in order.
We use a soft close format. If a bid comes in during the last 30 seconds, the timer extends by 1 minute. This keeps things fair and discourages last-second swashbuckling.
After the sale ends, winners are auto-charged, then items are picked up during the scheduled pickup window at the sale location (or delivered when delivery is selected).
Right now, we run online estate sales in Kansas City and St. Louis.
You do not have to live in KC or STL to shop. You do have to be able to get your items. If the sale is in St. Louis, pickup is in St. Louis. If the sale is in Kansas City, pickup is in Kansas City. (For some occasional sales, we’ll cross deliver, but that will be clear in the sale info).
Before you bid, do your future self a kindness and double-check the pickup city, ZIP code, and pickup window. Regret is a poor storage solution.
Two good options:
Create an account (click the register now button) and add a credit card.
After that, you can register for sales, watch items, bid, and generally conduct your treasure hunt with confidence and decorum.
Yes. 🙂
Our process blends the two. It’s the contents of a home (estate sale), sold through an online auction format.
Every item starts at $1, there’s no reserve, and the highest bidder wins. The upside is less chaos and more chill: no waiting in crowded lines, and you only go to the house if you win an item.
Every item starts at $1, and bidding goes up as shoppers bid against each other. Highest bid at the moment the lot closes wins. You can shop on a computer, phone, or on the Brown Button Estate Sales app.
You can bid two ways:
Place a incremental bid (you take the next highest bid).
Place a max bid (this is your “I want this, but I also have a life” number).
Max bids work like this: you set your max, and the system will only raise your bid as needed, up to that limit, if someone else is bidding against you.
Example:
You set a max bid of $200 on a mid-century lamp.
The current bid is $50.
Another bidder comes in at $75. The system automatically bumps you to the next bid increment.
If they keep bidding, you’ll keep auto-bidding, but only up to your $200 max.
If they bid past your max, you’ll get outbid, and you can decide if you want to jump back in or gracefully let it go like a mature person.
If you’re bidding in the app, you’ll get notifications when you’re outbid, so you’re not refreshing the page like it’s 2009.
Now the soft close:
This is a timed auction with a set date and time that lots begin closing. We use a soft close format so last-second bids don’t “steal” the win.
If a bid comes in during the last 30 seconds of a items timer, the timer extends by 1 minute. That gives everyone a fair chance to respond, and it keeps the ending from turning into a pure speed contest.
Payment is by credit card only. We do not accept cash or checks (and no, we can’t take a wheelbarrow of nickels).
After the auction ends, you’ll receive an invoice (typically the next morning) and the credit card you registered will be auto-charged. No extra fee for using a credit card.
Buyer’s premium: 15%. Example: you win an original Colorado mountain oil painting for $300, your total becomes $345, plus any applicable sales tax.
Sales tax: it depends on the location of the sale and the buyer’s location. We follow state laws, and when it applies it will be added to the invoice.
Pickup happens at the sale location. We list the city and ZIP code publicly, but the full address is shared only with winning bidders on their invoice. Most sales require you to sign up for a pickup appointment time, and pickup day and times vary by project, so always check the sale info and the yellow bidding info box before you bid.
What to bring:
A vehicle that fits what you bought (measure twice, drive once)
Moving blankets, straps, wrap, cardboard, or padding to protect the item and your vehicle if needed.
Loading help and vehicle risk:
We staff team members to help load items for customers, and we’re glad to do it. You direct where the item goes, we do the lifting. That said, loading furniture and bulky items into vehicles carries a small amount of risk, even when everyone’s being careful. If you choose to have our team load your vehicle, any vehicle damage during loading or transport is not Brown Button’s liability. If you’d rather load it yourself, no problem at all.
Only if you bring it up at dinner.
Here’s the etiquette, as handed down by the ancient guild of estate sale shoppers:
If you and your best friend want the same item, you may both bid. That’s literally the point of an auction.
If you win, you’re allowed to feel joy in your heart. You are not allowed to deliver a four-minute victory speech.
If you lose, you may sigh dramatically, but you must not claim the other person “stole it.” The auction decided. The gavel has spoken.
Best practice: bid with honor, let the highest bidder win, and remain friends afterward like civilized adults. If all else fails, send them a screenshot of the mid mod chair and say, “I forgive you,” and then move on with your life.
Someone else can pick up for you. To do so, email them your invoice, and list their name when scheduling a pick up time.
If an item isn’t picked up, we have to be tough on this one, even when it pains us.
We run multiple projects each week, and many homes have tight timelines. Often the house is sold or a new homeowner is taking possession right away. We don’t usually have the option of extending pickup, moving items, or storing them. That’s why we’re so clear upfront about pickup windows and location.
If you can’t pick up, can’t send a friend, and can’t sign up for delivery, the item will be donated to a new home. Consider it the circle of (estate sale) life.
Shipping: not usually. If shipping is available for a specific sale (coins, handbags, and other easily-shippable collections), it will be clearly stated. If it’s not clearly stated, assume pickup only.
Delivery: often yes for local buyers, using a third-party mover. Typical rule: delivery available within 25 miles of the sale location. If delivery is available for that sale, winners receive a delivery link with their invoice and submit a delivery request form.
Everything we sell is used. That’s part of the charm, and occasionally part of the plot twist.
Each listing includes detailed photos and a condition description. Read the condition notes and zoom the photos before bidding. If there’s significant wear or damage, we aim to photograph it clearly and describe it plainly.
Testing and guarantees can vary by category and sale. If an item is tested or has a known issue, it should be noted in the listing.
We work hard to photograph and describe items accurately, but we’re human and occasionally we miss an issue.
If we materially misdescribed an item or its condition, we aim to be reasonable and will work with you to find a fair solution. That might mean finding a middle ground, or issuing a refund.
Refund requests must be made within 2 days of pickup.
If a refund is approved, it includes the item price, buyer’s premium, and applicable taxes.
